Nothing, or Almost Nothing, to Report: Early Childhood Educators and Discursive Constructions of Colorblindness

This article focuses on 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with early childhood educators who responded to a question about reporting racial incidents as a ‘Serious Occurrence’ under guidelines mandated by the City of Toronto Children’s Services Division. We draw on critical race theory and colorblind theory in a discursive analysis of participants’ narratives. Results of this analysis suggest that participating early childhood professionals were reluctant to name and acknowledge incidents of racism in early learning environments, and engaged in discursive strategies that minimized and negated such incidents. Implications for the training and education of early childhood educators are noted and implications for provincial policy are discussed.